Changed Circumstances
by The Sage of Spirits
Summary: What will Gallia do... when their future sub-commander is taken away at a young age by... and raised as... a beorc?


_**The Sage of Spirits:** I swear, this will be the last after I post my 5-chapter Challenge. _n.n"  
_**Ranulf:** I somehow doubt that it will last.  
**Me: **It will! I'll do something to keep those evil plotbunnies at bay!  
**Ranulf:** Sure. Now what's this one about?  
**Me:** You. _n.n  
_**Ranulf:** ...Me? -blinks-  
**Me:** Heheh, yep. _n.n _Disclaimer.  
**Ranulf:** He owns nothing. Now let's read to see what he does to me... -sighs-_**

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**Changed Circumstances**

**Prologue: Spirited Away**

"Is everybody in position?" A soldier whispered from the bushes; they camouflaged themselves, covering their scent with a special substance to prevent detection from the pray they were after…

Laguz for slavery…

"Yessir. And it seems one of the nobles has joined in as well." Another whispered back, his lance shaking in his hand. The other widened his eyes in slight shock. A noble was taking part in a hunt?

"Oh? And who's this noble?" he asked quietly, adjusting his shield.

"Sir Raymond of Sienne. For a noble, he's excellent at the sword. Apparently came here because he was tired of not finding the one he wants. So he's gonna hand-pick the one."

"Is he quick on his feet?"

"As the rumors go. But he brought a horse with him – apparently to easily carry the sub-human off." He said, when he heard something in the bushes. "Who's there?!"

"I see you speak of me. It had better be in good taste." Raymond said to the two chatting soldiers as he led his horse through the foilage.

"Of-Of course, noble sir…!" he said, losing his grip on his lance. Scooping it up quickly, he was soon back into his original position.

"Good. Now be quiet or they won't come." He told the chit-chatting men, who quieted down as Raymond led his horse closer into the forest…

_(--In the forest…--)_

"Lethe…Not…Rough!" A laguz boy spoke in the modern tongue he was learning after he was forced out of his transformation; the girl cat he called Lethe merely hissed. The two were out playing, chasing each other as they searched for small game to take back as sides for theirs supper. Lethe jumped over him when she spotted a small rabbit. He sighed; he was tired, and he knew that he could not transform right now…

However, he knew not of the dangers that surrounded the two…

Raymond watched the two laguz children, a smile growing on his face. A female slave was not what he needed…

After all, a male slave would be more beneficial when trained at a young age…

_They should not know I'm here until it's too late…_ he thought as he crept closer to the two, pulling his horse along slowly…

The boy sat on the ground as Lethe growled mockingly; friend or not, she played too seriously, the boy thought. He watched as she walked away, most likely to look for more game for dinner. The boy decided to rest until his energy was restored, which should not take too long, the child assumed.

Unfortunately for him… the watcher charged towards him…

…And grabbed him.

"Ah!" he shouted, hoping his friend would hear him, but the man simply threw him onto the horse; he was on his stomach as the man raced off on his horse, one hand on the reins, the other on the boy's back. After charging for what seemed like hours – which was only a mere twenty minutes – he slowed down slightly, as to conserve the horse's energy a bit.

_I doubt they would be willing to chase me once I get to Crimea…_ he thought, turning his attention to the still-struggling boy. For a laguz child, he definitely had a lot of kick in him, he thought. "Calm down, boy. Fretting on like that will get you nowhere." Raymond told the boy, who looked up at him while remaining on his belly; now knowing that it was useless to struggle anymore, he sighed heavily and watched the scene quietly. What was going to happen to him? Where was his Momma…?

He asked himself these questions as he cried.

_(--Weeks Later…--)_

Raymond smiled at returning to the Holy City of Sienne; it had taken him a long time – it seemed – to get back with his prize. Pulling the horse by the reins, he led the animal through the city, the boy asleep on its back. In the weeks of his capture, he found that he was slightly attached to the man as a kidnapped child who grew used to his kidnapper – especially after he was saved by "bad men" who were trying to take him away to be sold on the slave trade. Raymond turned his head and smiled – he was glad that the laguz liked him now. That sort of thing was crucial for what he wanted in a slave.

Spotting his manor in the short distance, he pulled the horse further until he reached his property, where he lifted the child and let the horse enter the pen, where it walked to the shade and lay down on the soft grass. The boy suddenly cuddled up into Raymond's chest, a smile slowly appearing on his face. He walked up the long stairway until he stopped in front of an open door.

"Oh, Master Raymond. I am glad to see that you have returned from your trip," a man said as he stepped out of the way for his master to walk through, "I am heading for the marketplace to fetch food for the week. Would you like me to get anything in particular?" the butler asked, watching the man turn an eye to the sleeping youth.

"Go and purchase meat for this little one. That is all I can think of for now. Dismissed." Raymond said as he entered the manor; the butler walked down the stairs with an even pace as he disappeared into the streets. As he continued through the hallways, Raymond silently nodded to the maids as he finally entered the Master Bedroom where a lone woman sat by the windowsill. "Elenara…" he whispered softly into her ear.

She turned around slowly and a smile grew on her lips. "Raymond…" she whispered back, embracing him happily. She then turned her attention to the child in his arms. "Raymond, did you go to Gallia to bring him here…?"

He looked at her with intense eyes. "Of course – this little boy is the one I've been waiting for. He's young, so he's capable of trusting easier than the older ones. He is the slave I've longed for." he said as he saw a single tear fall from his wife's eyes. "What's wrong?"

"How could you tear this boy from his parents, just to use him as a slave…?" she muttered as the tears streamed further down her cheeks; she took the boy into her bosom, startling and awakening him. "Oh, child… Tell me, what is your name in the modern tongue?" she asked, a serene smile on her face. She stroked his light blue hair gently, calming him down enough for him to speak.

"R… Ran… ulf…" he replied hesitantly; Elenara continued to run her hands through his hair, eventually rubbing his cat-like ears gently.

"Ranulf… I see. Raymond, we will raise Ranulf as a son, not as a slave." she responded – suddenly it seemed, causing the man to raise his eyebrow somewhat angrily.

"I bring him all this way from Gallia and that is what you really wanted?" he sighed into his hand. "Why didn't you just tell me that?"

"I… cannot bear children for you." she said with slight hesitance, adjusting the tiara on her forehead. "So when I learned that you wanted a young child for a slave, I was devastated, yet overjoyed. A child in the household is something I have always desired. But when I saw this little one – who was going to be used as a slave – shivering in my bosom, scared, I was suddenly faced with my selfishness." She said sadly as she let the boy go from her arms. "Please Raymond, let us raise him as a son…" she pleaded; he saw the sparkle in her eyes and face palmed.

"Fine… But we raise him as a beorc – that means we have to hide his laguz heritage." he said as he watched Ranulf grab his leg; Raymond suddenly caught himself smiling at the lad and becane somewhat shocked. He then turned his head towards his wife. "He can keep his laguz name, but we shall give him my name as a beorc name." he said, kneeling to the young Ranulf. "You shall be Ranulf…but also Raymond. Alright?"

The boy looked at him with confusion. "Me… also… Ray… mond?" he tried to say in the modern tongue as a light chuckle managed to escape from the older man.

"Yes…" he said, lifting the boy into his arms. "I suppose I should show you around your new home then." Raymond mused to himself as he left the room, Ranulf curling up onto the man's chest…

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_**Ranulf:** You have me... kidnapped?  
**Me:** Heheheh... Yep. _n.n  
_**Ranulf:** I'm afraid to ask, but why did you decide that?  
**Me:** I thought you would make a freaking awesome swordsman, and that's the only way I can imagine you using a sword. _n.n"  
_**Ranulf:** ...What? -blinks-  
**Me: **You heard me - a S-W-O-R-D-S-M-A-N. But you also transform, but you mostly fight with a sword because the others won't know you're a laguz yet. _n.n  
_**Ranulf: **... -shakes head-  
**Me: **Sorry if the first part sounded rushed - I noticed that and tried to slow it a bit. Review please!_


End file.
